Football's international rules board on Saturday unanimously supported a proposal to reverse a 2007 decision that barred women from playing with headscarves.

The 2007 decision was based on safety concerns. At a meeting of the International Football Association Board in Bagshot, England, Prince Ali of Jordan, a member of the executive committee of FIFA, presented a hijab with Velcro fasteners made by the Dutch company Capsters.

In a statement released by FIFA, soccer’s world governing body, the board said it “agreed to the proposal in principle that headscarves be allowed, pending an accelerated review of health and safety issues.” A final endorsement is to be made at the board’s special meeting on July 2.

Upon hearing the news, Reema Ramounieh, 28, a goalkeeper for Jordan’s national team who was barred from participating in the team’s first Olympic qualifying match last year, said: “We’re really happy, you know. We were thinking that we wouldn’t be playing anymore. What I’m feeling I can’t even express now.”

But Annie Sugier, the president of the League for International Women’s Rights in France, questioned the decision-making process after the United Nations urged FIFA to lift the ban on headscarves. “You see, the U.N. is taking pressure on sport,” she said, “instead of speaking on what this issue means.”

The rules board also assessed the test results from eight goal-line technology systems. Two, Hawk-Eye and GoalRef, received “very positive” scores. A final round of testing will be done before a vote in July. One could be in place for the 2014 World Cup.